Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Like a stylus on a record player slowly collecting dust from the grooves, eventually the debris ball becomes so big the needle begins to glide over the playing surface. Been Snack seems to skate the slick topography and then dig in. The sounds produced are electronic creation of funky vignettes and 2020 robot Confucianism.

Crispy Duct is tempting like every takee outee restaurant in every grocery plaza around the nation. So fast, inexpensive and hot. Like the ample amount of torched sesame oil that will mix with your blood, Bean Snack provides this in audible form. A delicious but sickening amount of audio overload. This composition is full and drips over the sides. Buddhas vegetable delight so pumped full of MSG (don't believe the cover), a coma is the rest you will take after one listen. Drift with Crispy Duct and and your brainwaves will flatten out. Sound comes in all forms across the styrofoam static canvas. Close to an hour of crinkle cut notes, feedback and swirling speech, all finding their pathways for wiggling into your consciousness. The best part, this is a buffet of a cassette flipping countless times. Becoming lost in Bean Snack's world of sodium laden fermented tunes that permeate from physical existence.

You can order a copy of this to take home from Bob Bucko Jr's Personal Archives label. They rolled these up in an edition of fifty. Crispy Duct gets such an awesome texture with repeated listens. Be aware, your audio digestion will need this time in order to fully absorb all of the nutrients.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

GRØN lives in a world of exploring the most fragile sounds. Mending crumbling notes, not just recreating them, but to add new lifeblood, always making them more. The beauty is how much feeling is imparted in this process. With each GRØN release i have listened to, my heart looks forward to the deep connection awaiting me. Indland is remarkable and conveys the allurement I have come to relate with all releases by GRØN.

This cassette is two side long pieces, balanced and blending seamlessly into each other. Bjarke Rasmussen is the solo artist composing these sentimental soundscapes. They are dreamlike field recordings from Bjarke's home in Denmark. These samples from the environment are only the contour of the sound to come. The artistry of GRØN is the ability to take transparency and make it so much more. In this process though, so little is added. This allows the sound to be clear. Like a freshwater spring in the earth, the depths are visible and beautiful as well as the sun sparkling on the waters surface. This could be labeled as ambient or drone, but is more sublime than words can describe. I gave it a go though!

There are one hundred of these tapes waiting to connect with listeners. You can purchase a copy from the Italian label Yerevan Tapes. This label has picked up speed and has some excellent releases worth listening to. I purchased my copy of Indland from Josh at Tomentosa. There are still copies available at his store as well.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Four new cassette releases from Never Anything Records. The first three were really incredible and the strides are only getting longer. This label now has seven releases and all of them are so unique and impressive. Take a few minutes and give this newest batch your attention.

Tereshkova sounds like the indescribable colors in a long burning fire. The pace and richness of this tape have been gently roasted and exude the chilled out feelings obtained when your mind is finally at ease. Golden Tomgirl is vintage music from aging photographs, showing faces of stoicism, happiness and thinking. We listen and wonder, who are those people and even more amazingly we are related.

There are some pretty good ties to somewhat of traditional song lengths, half an hour of tunes spread over ten tracks. The songs themselves seem to slowly fly away as you listen. Sometimes you can hear recognizable connections to particular genres, but this is difficult to discern as the gentle motions of the beats drift upwards and out of recognition. The beauty of Tereshkova's sound is subtle and must be stepped in sync with in order to truly enjoy. Like the long burning fire, it does not get that seasoned in a short amount of time. Golden Tomgirl requires the same treatment. These songs will fill your head with the cleansing smokey sage and clear out unwanted feelings. Slow beats and ancient synthesizer sets the stage for vocals coming through an electric vapor no one knew existed. Tereshkova has set stage somewhere in this nebula and is emitting consciousness in the form of music. We train our ears to this location and can here the alluring beauty that is Golden Tomgirl.

This is one of four tapes in the January 2016 batch from Never Anything Records. Their facebook page URL and the title of this artist might be indication of the relation Tereshkova has to Never Anything Records. Very apropos to the music the label curates. Dazzling sounds that can be heard but always out of reach or perception. That is the true uniqueness of the label in recording artist flickering in a different spectrum of sound waves. Golden Tomgirl gleams with the same radiation as the rest of the labels releases.

This tape in this cassette was let out around the world, trampled on, weathered, forgotten, then wound back. A lot stuck to it and there is much to hear. Coin Locker Kid has composed an anthem to the sound bouncing in consciousness. This could be a world of discord as the title suggest, but more of curated adventure through sonic spaces and recorded voice.

When you record sixteen tracks over forty five minutes in length, there is time to explore the magical noises so often ignored. This music takes you through both familiar and mysterious worlds were music, song, beats, vintage speech seem to sometimes connect and spark then short out. As the songs progress through Discordia, your ears will seem to warp with the incoming tunes. Coin Locker Kid has a message, envelope you to almost cause a fall, but with music so thick your mind will remained balanced. Like a wing with molecules rushing to either side, the smooth curve with how each of us plow in to new music will allow lift and understanding as we begin to hear above. This is not achieved without some crash and burns and this cassette will push you into haze. There really is too much to describe or label into one genre. Like i said in the start, fly paper laid out around the globe collecting everything, wound up and processed by Coin Locker Kid. When the sound gets so big there is a flinching reaction to shelter yourself. The first time through i kind of flinched. The second time i listened to the cassette, mind mind floated higher and i could hear us becoming friends. There are two consecutive songs in the middle of this tape that get pretty simple compared to everything else. "As special as you are, you're not as special as you think" and "Body over there". They are both really, really good and shine the light on how talented Coin Locker Kid really is.

This one is delivered to the world in an edition of fifty from Never Anything Records. Per standard now of the label, another incredible piece from an artist unable to been seen in this landscape. Get this from the Never Anything bandcamp page and let it grow in your tape player.

Music finds methods of entering into your head. What you sometimes expect to be good only delivers the hollow echo of the motions of sound. Other times, you thoughts are caught beginning to wonder how good this music really is. California Bungalows is one of the more infrequent other times for me. The first time listening through this, i did not want it to end and wanted to remove EP from the Synthetic Breeze title.

Four tracks of simply pure and playful sounds. The beats and jangley guitar riffs are soundscapes for cool sunny days that just seem to get better and better. Synthesizer played on a handlebar keyboard while peddling through vintage neighborhoods. Golden rays dancing on surfaces, as they find pathways through the immense trees. There is no party happening later because you are in it now.
Enjoying life and digging the Synthetic Breeze.

Just like this post, this tape by California Bungalows is short and sweet. Never Anything Records has keen senses for hearing beyond the dimensions. Through some gravitational singularity instruments used by the label pull form the world only they have discovered. High five for their quinary release. Fifty of these released in January of this year.

AMULETS is Randall Taylor and he has been delivering some excellent sounds for a few years now. Mostly cassettes in various cool art forms, a cd and dvd from the bandcamp site. Many releases sold out or down to a few. This one titled Beneath the Surface is simple, awesome and beautiful. Never Anything Records has captured the sounds of AMULETS and both artist and label have delivered a tape that will be sold out soon.

The sounds of Beneath the Surface are dense electronic forages being ported out of Randall Taylor's consciousness. Vintage hum of time strewn sounds delicately balanced with strings of electric origin.
The six tracks on the cassette seem to have an ebb and flow, alternating tracks spilling over with layers of sound then receding to a more singular source. The true beauty AMULETS imparts is the overwhelming feeling the listener receives. These sounds rest in the introspective world. They are thoughtful and sound best as the mind turns ideas and formulates intentions. It is easy to hear how well crafted Randall's composition is. The depth is beyond measurement of conventional methods.
Maybe why so much of his releases have sold out.

Beneath the Surface is in the second batch from Never Anything Records. I really like this label.
Every release has been so unique. I am also a fan of consistent label artwork. Something Never Anything Records has adhered to in both the first and second batches. Excellent choice and can roll in the deck for a long time.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Marvelous music filling my mind. This cassette starts off with a sweet bluesy tone and never ceases to bear timeless delicacy. An hour and a half of live music recorded at the La Datcha in Lausanne, Switzerland during Some of the Missing Ones Festival. Various artists fill these spools and the entire event sounds quite spectacular from these well curated tracks compiled by Hummus Records.

Stripped down folk music. Old timey sounds blended and brought to a modern pitch. Strings brushing the middle east. Vocals in so many shapes and tones. Touches of raw synthesizer and beats all eminating from talented muscians enjoying their craft. Guitar, banjo, electronics and mysterious toungues are just a quick pre-hear to what is in store for anyone who takes time to explore this tape. All sparkling melodies and lyrics ready to capture your minds thoughts. The variation among the music is immense. Compositions held together with a slowly swirling intensity. Somehow deftly polished and preformed live and raw. Each of the tracks sound so familiar, like you have been listening to this cassette for many years.

Describing a various artist tape much less a live recording is a hardy task. Here is quick comparison of a few of the artists for the amusement of anyone reading this and future exploration in music history. Track four by Philippe Henchoz titled "Body Language" reminded me of the Scud Mountain Boys, their stuff from the "The Early Years" release. Following this, the next track by Louis Schild & Antoine Lang titled "Wit of the Staircase 1 & 2", made me think of the artist Dan DelSanto. Track number nine by Danae Leitenberg titled "Exile" has a John Jacob Niles feel for me. One more comparison, track number fourteen titled "Harpe" by Far Away has a little Mississippi John Hurt tone and vibe to it. These are just a few connections to help understand the vibe of these live recordings. There is so much more, and everything is from start to finish is absolutely solid.

This one is out on Hummus Records from La Chaux De Fonds, Switzerland. A cool label that compiled these live recordings in a "Limited Tape" around mid November of last year. Not sure how many of these were made. I am currently sure these tapes are available from their bandcamp page, as this is being posted. If you want music to keep your ears interested and have no intentions of changing tapes for a while, this Hummus Records cassette will be a perfect choice.